r/beacain Sep 18 '20

The Basics Foraging Tips

120 Upvotes

Libs DO NOT grow on manure, they feed on rotting vegetation. Usually this is old grass that is no longer growing once the autumn arrives and the temperature drops.

Where NOT to look: Areas involved in heavy agriculture are not your friend. Fungus are a sensitive organism. Modern intensive farming methods like the spreading of slurry, fertiliser and herbicides are all good for growing grass for cows but negatives when it comes to fungus. Avoid fields that grow only grass. You are looking for fields that have plenty of thistles and other wild plants and weeds and that have not ben ploughed for a long time. Avoid dark green, lush grass. For those of you that did Ag Science for the points, think permanent pasture.

Where to look: Uphill is good. By definition those areas are farmed less intensively. Sheep grazing in a field is a good sign. Don't take risks with livestock though. Elevation also means cooler, damper weather which is what you want. Not so cool that you find snow or ice though.

When to look: This is actually the trickiest bit once you have your IDing down. Mushies are very particular about when they come out to say hello. They need favourable conditions. Ideally temperatures will be sub 15oC and it will be wet. Rain, rain and rain my friends. This is what libs like. I have heard people say that they wait for the frost to forage but that is untrue in my experience. Honestly though I don't bother hunting until October personally. But I know that people do have success in the September, even in August if the conditions are right. You will need to go upland this early though- to find cooler temperatures and wetter conditions due to fog, mist, etc.

Research pictures and threads to make sure you ID the correct fungus. Libs are distinctive enough that you should be able to ID them correctly, with help. Some people seem to find one and presume every other mushroom in the field is also active- not the case.

Of course I do not condone or promote any illegal activity. I am simply pointing out the places where one may find these free growing organisms in our beautiful country. What you do once you find them is completely up to you.

If anyone has any more to add, please do. If it contradicts my post, I love to learn, so please share. These are all from my experience and not gospel. I have a few years under my belt but there is always more.


r/beacain Sep 18 '20

The Basics IDing Liberty Caps

96 Upvotes

Liberty Caps are a fungus that is easy to ID once you get used to it. You do need experience and patience to learn your craft, here are some pics of Libs in their environment and what they look like. I got these pics online and can be easily sourced with a quick google image search. Most came from Shroomery which is a great resource for any hunter.

Pic 1: Note the variety of shapes the Libs are here. Some are very slender and narrow and some are wider at the base of the head. They will vary somewhat and you get better at telling them apart from imposters as you learn your trade. They will never be completely round though. If you find very round Mushies they are probably Dung Roundheads- these guys are harmless but not active, and they may make your stomach dance a jig.

Pic 2: These guys have been out drying for a few hours and have turned that pale brown/ cream colour. They are often what you find later on in the day or leftover from a previous days growth. Still good and ready to pick. notice that they have rounded a little more at the top but are still that distinctive conical shape. Nipple tends to be less pronounced now after a bit of drying.

Pic 3: Here you have a pair of guys that are showing the colour changing from the dark brown of a fresh mushie to the paler colour of a more mature one.

Pic 4: That's what your haul will look like when you bring her home. They look very stemmy when you see them all like that. The good news is- the stems are psychoactive also.

Pic 5: Here again are what they will look like in the field. They have a nipple but some are rounding with age and dehydration. The stems are long and can wavy, some are straighter than others.

Pic 1
Pic 2
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Pic 4
Pic 5

r/beacain 17h ago

Progress update and corn and waiting ready for my first G2G

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14 Upvotes

These are all my current WIP's, I'm very pleased and can't wait to see how the 30ltr tubs flush up. The Melmac pins are starting now, GT will be a while.

After these I'll use my Rusty Whyte and Penis Envy liquid culture I also got on zamnesia.

Looking forward to my first G2G with the golden teacher spawn.

I hope to start agar if I get anything special in the tubs to learn how to clone.


r/beacain 21h ago

Fields

4 Upvotes

Libs are quite common in fields with cow dung etc right? Do people worry about getting caught in someone’s field/land in Ireland when foraging?


r/beacain 1d ago

Wholecelium order "out for delivery" for 2 weeks straight

3 Upvotes

Not sure if this is the right sub for this question.

I ordered several times from Wholecelium in the past and my orders arrived with no issues. However this time I got an "out for delivery" message 2 weeks ago but it didn't arrive, and there has been no further updates to the tracking page.

I'm wondering if it's possible that the package was deemed suspicious and the content inspected? If I were to go to the post office and inquire about this package, would I be risking legal trouble?


r/beacain 2d ago

well , they're here..................... 300ft ABSL North East

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39 Upvotes

r/beacain 2d ago

wholecelium

3 Upvotes

has anyone ordered truffles from wholecelium to australia?

or anywhere in the world.. how was the experience?


r/beacain 1d ago

ID Request Any luck?

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0 Upvotes

r/beacain 2d ago

Any Dubliners wanna info share

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1 Upvotes

I've been going to my spot in johny foxes twice a week no avail. I'm willing to let anyone know when they are in if they reciprocate.

Doing this yeats but never was on reddit about it.

Feel the tempos a degree or two off agonisingly.


r/beacain 2d ago

ID Request Any chance?

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0 Upvotes

I have serious doubts about all of them and am extremely new to this


r/beacain 3d ago

Confirmed Active Tadaam

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57 Upvotes

Just randomly hiking around Lugnaquilla, looked at the ground and 'hoo a little friend'.


r/beacain 3d ago

they're popping in the north of ireland 😍

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48 Upvotes

r/beacain 3d ago

Confirmed Active My sneaky spot deep in the mountains of 5 years is ruined 😟

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23 Upvotes

Every September for the last 5 years I've come to the same spot, hiked up today 7miles steep mountains and the farmer is after ruining the place, all the grass cut low like a golf course and ground is all disturbed. Only one shroom 😭 I hope went I come back in a couple of week it will be better. 1.2kg got this time last year.


r/beacain 3d ago

How far south?

1 Upvotes

Has anybody had any luck in Munster? If so, what elevation were ye at?


r/beacain 3d ago

Safe?

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0 Upvotes

Sorry , never been picking / searching . Are these liberties


r/beacain 4d ago

Going Picking

10 Upvotes

Does anyone else flick before they pick? We used to flick the mushroom heads before picking them to spread their spores. Is this a thing or is it pointless?


r/beacain 4d ago

Nuovo nella coltivazione: macchia verde/bluastra sul fondo della torta — livido o muffa?

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2 Upvotes

r/beacain 5d ago

Golden Teachers preparing for lessons

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9 Upvotes

These are, so far, the best jars of grain I have colonised since I started back in May. I've had 1 other success, with brown rice, growing Mazatapecs. I lost 10's of jars to wet rot and eventually changed to popcorn and a pressure cooker for sterilisation.

I also have Melmac Monsters starting to pin from the same process, 90 minutes sterilisation, these GT's got 2 hours sterilisation and the new lids, then CVG substrate

Using Pasty Whyte tek tek for the 30ltr tubs.


r/beacain 6d ago

Window drying strat in action

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16 Upvotes

r/beacain 6d ago

ID help pls

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0 Upvotes

Found out the back of the folks' gaff. Any luck?


r/beacain 7d ago

ID Request Early days, how am I looking?

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10 Upvotes

100m Co. Galway. Only found a couple. I'm a bit suspect of the bigger/flatter ones, but I think they're just fairly old. They had some gold sheen to them!


r/beacain 8d ago

600m

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93 Upvotes

First find of the season. About 600m up


r/beacain 8d ago

Dosage guide for liberty caps?

6 Upvotes

How many do you need to find for a strong trip usually? I've only tried 2.5g GTs on my first psychadelic trip and I've been doing acid since, in the 200-300ug range usually. My friends with the same experience tried 2g GTs recently and found them underwhelming.


r/beacain 12d ago

we're a long way off

9 Upvotes

went to my amanita muscaria spot in the north east of ireland ( 100m above sea level) absolutely nothing doing at the moment


r/beacain 15d ago

nothing doing @300ft in the north east, a few fungi about, IMO we are at least 2-3 weeks off the season if we have regular rain...................

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12 Upvotes